


Artistic Vision

by jeno__candy



Series: Doodles [4]
Category: DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, barbara helps damian with girl trouble, batfam, you and damian try to avoid each other at school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-06 14:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeno__candy/pseuds/jeno__candy
Summary: Y/N and Damian choose not to associate with each other in order not to cause unwanted drama and to stay true to their soulmates.[SUB PLOT:Damian goes to Barbara for advice]





	Artistic Vision

**Author's Note:**

> Soulmate AU where what you write on your skin appears on your soulmate's in the same spot. The words and drawings will slowly fade after a while.  
> [SOULMATE AU DEVELOPMENT: when you are in very close proximity to your soulmate (but not necessarily talking to them or anything of the sort) symptoms will begin to show that confirm you have already met your soulmate.]

Upon the close encounter with the school's most sought-after boy, Y/N decided it would be best for her not to associate herself with him in any way. After all, she had no intention of leaving her soulmate to crush on the popular son of Bruce Wayne.

Definitely not.

And so, with not so much as a passive glance or breath in his direction, she continued on with her life at school—just as if that little run in never happened.

And thankfully, Damian seemed to forget about it as well.

That made it so much easier.

-

As much as he would have loved to get to know the pretty girl in the art club and talk to her more, Damian decided to wholeheartedly ignore her at school. And as luck would have it, she seemed to have forgotten about the encounter and kept to her circle of friends.

But that didn’t stop Damian’s often uncontrollable gazes or glance as she walked by or entered the room he was in. Fortunately for him, he did not have any classes with her whatsoever. Although, that did nothing to lessen the occasional daydream as he wondered more about her.

He shook his head as he focused on the essay he was typing, watching as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

You’re Damian Wayne! He thought, mentally hitting himself for getting so worked up over some girl he bumped into.

She wasn’t even his soulmate!

And oh, his soulmate! How...How...How stupid was it that he was so blindly interested in this completely random girl and almost completely forget about the girl in which he was meant to be with?!

Feeling a little ashamed and rather sick to his stomach, Damian stood up and made a beeline for the kitchen hoping to find something that could calm him down. Especially whatever strange sensation was fluttering about in his stomach.

-

Y/N was never really one for relationships in the first place. She figured that she would end up meeting her soulmate in the most ungodly and worst way possible, and yet, she seemed to have a feeling that when she met him, it wouldn’t be that way. She felt as if her first meeting with him would actually go well!

But she did feel a little nervous about meeting him because Damian Wayne happened to be occupying every corner of her pretty little head and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Of course, she didn’t want any gossip to spread or to cause any sort of trouble, so she kept her mouth shut when it came to Damian.

As usual, she would just sound like another crazed fan. And she did not want that.

And through all of this, she had almost forgotten the boy whom she was meant to be with. Her own soulmate. A guilty frown would spread on her face whenever she thought of her soulmate finding out about her daydreaming about another boy. While it’s not like she was dating her soulmate, it was a special bond and Y/N felt very guilty and ashamed, despite having done nothing wrong. And while Damian Wayne seemed like the perfect boy in the eyes of nearly every teenage girl at school, Y/N liked to think that her soulmate was even better.

-

Damian trudged down the street with his hands shoved into his hoodie. He had absolutely nothing to do at home, and that included schoolwork, training, and his usual activities. Everything he could possibly do to keep himself busy seemed ridiculously dull and boring. And not wanting to bother anybody else at the manor, he set out for a walk around town. Gotham wasn't all too bad during the day, as it was during the night that most criminals and scum would strike. But Damian still did not enjoy the loud honks from passing cars or the occasional shout of children running by. He could hear store bells chime and the hubbub of popular spots to hang out all full of various people.

Smack!

"Tch, watch where you're-"

"S-Sorry! O-Oh, Damian!"

He looked at who he bumped into just in time to see Barbara Gordon adjusting the bag of groceries she was carrying as she smiled warmly at him.

"Gordon," he mumbled, nodding in response to the woman. He hoped that they were finished and that would be the end of their encounter, but he was sadly mistaken.

"What are you doing walking around all by yourself?"

Damian almost growled in response. Was he not allowed to leave the manor and go places? Instead, he shrugged and mumbled something along the line of, "I had nothing to do at home, and I wanted to clear my head."

He missed the unwavering smile on Barbara's face as she sent him the most unreadable expression. Exasperated, Damian sighed and rolled his eyes, about to excuse himself when she took hold of his arm.

"Now, hold on! Dick told me you've got your soulmate markings already!"

"Grayson..."

"Never mind that! Now...Are you out here trying to clear your head because of...girl trouble?"

-

A couple minutes later, Damian found himself following Barbara into a nearby cafe after putting her groceries into her car. He sat down across from her in the corner booth and awkwardly fiddled with the strings of his hoodie, biting his bottom lip nervously as Barbara scrutinized him.

"What?" He drawled, leaning back and crossing his arms. Damian scoffed and turned to the side as she continued to stare at him. What exactly did she want to talk about?!

"Tell me about your soulmate."

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me everything you know about your soulmate," Barbara repeated, clasping her hands together and resting them on the table. Before Damian could speak and ask how it was any of her business, a waitress walked over and greeted them. He let Barbara order whatever she wanted and listened as she ordered some fries for him and a soda. When the waitress finally left, Damian glanced back at the redhead and found her gazing at him with an expectant grin.

"What is it?!"

"You know exactly what I want," she replied, shrugging casually.

"How is this any of your business?" He shot back, feeling an unstoppable blush of embarrassment rise on from his neck to his face.

"Do you want a girl's input or would you rather go to your brothers?"

Damian stayed silent.

At this, Barbara leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, sending him a smirk, "That's what I thought."

-

Sighing, Y/N carried her biology textbook along with her notebook and pencil case as she made her way up the stairs. There was a huge biology exam coming up in two weeks and it was not something you wanted to have to redo. She pushed open the wooden doors and flinched at the loud creak it made as the school's library came into view. The three librarians sat behind their respective desks as she walked in, and Y/N could see that it was strangely crowded for once. She turned right and walked past some shelves before seeing the spiraling staircase clad in maroon carpeting. She ran a hand along the smooth wooden railing and continued up to find a couple of other empty desks in the private area where the tables were divided into their own sections. Upon a quick once over, she noticed an empty desk near the door and made a beeline for it.

Y/N looked down as she pulled her chair out and saw a pair of the school issued boys shoes poking out from across her, and she figured somebody was on the other side of the divider. The area itself was quite empty, but there were students at other desks. Thinking nothing of it, she sat down and opened her textbook to the page she'd marked and began to skim it over while opening her notebook. Her pencil case sat opened off to the side and Y/N grabbed one without looking, satisfied to find one of her usual pink glitter pens.

Glancing down at her left arm, she wondered if she should try and connect to her soulmate again. It had been a while since they last spoke to each other with their usual banter. In fact, Y/N missed it. Without further delay, Y/N scribbled a quick message; her heart pounded for some unknown reason and she felt her face get hot as she anxiously awaited a reply.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

**I'm doing alright. How are you?**

_Same as always. I have a huge exam coming up, so I'm studying right now. T_T_

**You should focus on your studies, not me at the moment.**

Y/N couldn't help but let out a tiny chuckle at his response. Gaining more confidence to continue the conversation, she wrote her own cheeky reply.

_Are you telling me that you aren't studying for the big bio exam? We do go to the same school, after all._

**I'll have you know that I took the course last semester and completely annihilated everyone in that class with my perfect scores.**

_You're kidding! You scored 100 on the final test?!_

**Of course.**

-

Damian felt proud at the subtle display of his intelligence as he read his soulmate's response of disbelief. He was Damian Wayne, of course, he aced that entire class. When his arm began to tingle again, he eagerly looked down to see her reply. Maybe it was the fact that his soulmate was actually talking to him again after a while or the fact that this seemed like a complete dream, but Damian swore his eyes clouded over when he read the words on his arm.

_Do you think you could help me study? We don't have to meet up or anything, but could you maybe give me a few tips or pointers?_

Pride swelled in Damian's chest as he read it over and over again until it faded from his view.

**I wouldn't be opposed to helping you.**

_That's great! Thanks so much!_

**It's not a problem.**

There was a sort of...haze that seemed to be clouding Damian's vision at the moment. While nothing looked blurry and everything looked normal, he felt as though the room he was currently in was tinted the slightest bit in a seemingly pink hue. Blinking, he rubbed in eyes and waited for his vision to adjust...But nothing changed. Everything was still tinted pink. Although, perhaps tinted wasn't the correct word for it. It seemed more like there was a pink filter in front of his gorgeous green eyes. However, the strangeness didn't stop there, because now Damian's heart seemed to be thumping wildly in his chest. Normally, he would attribute that to the adrenaline pumping through him or perhaps even the fact that he was currently talking to his soulmate. But that wouldn't account for the abnormal pink hues or the seemingly rapidly increasing pink and warmth engulfing his entire body. Damian raised his smartphone in front of his face and pulled up the camera, feeling absolutely mortified to see that his entire face had gone pink! He was blushing! But why?!

-

Y/N gaped when the pages of her notebook seemed to be a lovely shade of blue. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, wondering if she was seeing things, but no, her notebook was blue. Glancing around in a panic, she noticed that every single thing in the room seemed to be blue! Gulping, Y/N's throat suddenly felt dry and she furrowed her eyebrows when she felt a sudden thump in her chest. Clutching at it, she felt her heart beginning to beat faster and harder. Shivering, she rubbed at her arms through her uniform and wondered if somebody had turned the heat down in the entire library or if she was just catching a rather strange illness.

_Jeez, it's freezing where I am_

**Strange, it's quite warm where I am. A little too warm, I suppose.**

_Really?_

**Yes.**

Sighing in relief, Y/N ran her fingers through her hair and stretched a little. Maybe she was just seeing things because everything seemed to be slowly reverting to their normal colours, and her heart wasn't thumping so frantically in her chest. The cold breeze she'd felt was gone and she sighed, basking in the peacefulness of the room.

Maybe I'm just getting sick, she thought, shrugging at the odd event.

-

Damian ran a hand through his hair as he stood up and gathered his books into his hands. He made his way past the other desks and as he stepped out of the door, felt a sudden cold breeze ghosting over what seemed like his entire body. Shivering slightly, he looked around confused and was met with students busy studying or working. A mop of H/C hair stood out to him, but he didn't know why and shrugged to himself, continuing out the door.

The cool chill left as quickly as he'd come.

 

At the same time, Y/N sat up in her desk when she felt a warm and tingling sensation spike through her chest and froze in confusion when it began to spread all throughout her body. It wasn't painful or caused any discomfort, but she was extremely confused at the complete one-eighty her body seemed to be doing. Just before, she'd felt so cold and was shivering endlessly in her seat. Looking around, she spotted nothing out of order. What caught her eye though was a tall boy with dark hair turned around as he exited the room.

Either her eyes needed to get checked, or she was seriously losing it...But was that boy...Shivering? She watched him shake his head and continue out of the room, disappearing past the windows of the room she was in.

She relaxed in her seat when the warm prickling sensation suddenly stopped.

-

_*Flashback*_

_Huffing, Damian ate his fries silently as he attempted to avoid Barbara's unnerving grin. It was safe to say that it wasn't working, and as each minute ticked by, Damian grew more and more anxious._

_"It's none of your business!" He snapped._

_"Again...My advice or your brothers' advice?"_

_Damian clicked his tongue and sat back, crossing his arms and sighing, "Whatever."_

_-_

_Barbara's eyes seemed to sparkle with an unending twinkle as she listened to Damian talk about his soulmate, and without even realizing it, he'd let slip some laughs and smiles as his mind wandered._

_"Damian, that's adorable!"_

_"That's irrelevant."_

_"So...What's the problem?"_

_He sighed and nervously fiddled with his hoodie strings, "There's this pretty girl at my school in the art club and she seems really pleasant to be around, but I already have my own soulmate..."_

_The pretty redhead's eyes lit up with glee and she smacked the table, laughing, "That's okay, Damian! Not everyone ends up with their soulmate, and although it's rare, it's okay not to be with them. It's just a matter of telling them." Barbara sent him a soft and encouraging smile._

_Damian looked at her unsurely. Was it not unfair to his soulmate if they happened to harbour feelings for him? He voiced his thoughts earnestly and waited for Barbara's response, once again feeling a little ashamed._

_"You said your soulmate goes to your school, right?"_

_He nodded._

_"I want you to look out for some signs. Usually, they will happen when you are in very close proximity with your soulmate and you've met them already at this point. Your vision will switch and everything will be a different colour. You might feel cold or warm, it depends on what your soulmate is feeling at the same time."_

_"W-Would it happen if we were conversing with each other?"_

_"Oh no," she replied, waving a hand dismissively as she sipped her drink. "It only happens to the ones who haven't met properly and may have just made eye contact down the hall or saw each other briefly. For example, maybe they held the door out for you."_

_Damian nodded, albeit still a bit confused._

_*Flashback End*_

-

With wide eyes, Damian froze in his tracks as he recalled the conversation he had with Barbara.

"Oh shit," he whispered, still frozen in his spot. He rigidly turned back to the direction of the room he was previously in. My soulmate was in there the entire time?!

Without a second thought, he dashed up the stairs and around the corner, looking frantically for anybody he might recognize to have been in the room he was in. If he was lucky, they would still be in there.

_*Flashback*_

_"After the initial signs, one more thing will happen to confirm it," Barbara added._

_Damian nodded and waited for her to continue._

_"A bright mark will appear on one of your wrists and glow slightly before fading away and disappearing."_

_*Flashback End*_

He rushed down the corridor and almost rammed into someone if it wasn't for his lightning-fast reflexes. He skidded to a stop and quickly mumbled an apology before rushing around them and running off.

 

Y/N paused.

Was that Damian Wayne running by just now?

-

Damian arrived back at the study area and scanned the entire room multiple times, looking around for anybody who could spark some sort of feeling in him, but there was absolutely no one who caught his eye. Sighing, he caught his breath quickly and glanced down at his left wrist to see a glowing mark on it.

He weakly pounded a fist on the door frame, sighing in defeat. _I **missed** her!_

"Just my luck," he grumbled, turning swiftly and shoving a hand in his left pocket while he held his things with his right arm.

 

Y/N tilted her head to the side and shook her head.

"What business do I have in Damian's affairs?" She asked herself, continuing down the corridor towards the spiraling staircase. As she walked, she noticed a little glow poking out from under her uniform sleeve and paused to look at it. A bright glow erupted from underneath her sleeve and suddenly it dawned on her.

The tinted room, the sudden cold breeze, all of the signs!

Are you kidding me?! She thought, frustrated. Her soulmate was literally right there and she missed him! How could that even be possible?! She contemplated on going back and trying to figure out who it was for a while before deciding that it couldn't hurt to try. Quickly, she made her way back up the stairs and the empty hall down to the study room she was in. Poking her head in, she scanned the room and found nobody of interest and dejectedly, she sighed and turned to leave.

As she left, she noticed Damian walking out of the library as she looked over the railing. Sighing, she shook her head to dismiss any daydreams that could start and focused on getting back to her locker.

-

With her bag slung over her shoulder, Y/N's mind wandered to the previous events and how frustrated she felt. To realize that her soulmate was in the exact same room as her when it was too late made her so angry at herself. How could she miss something as critical as that? How could she have dismissed it as a mere sickness she was coming down with?

"I'm an idiot," she grumbled, making her way out of the school. Looking down, she noticed a sheet of paper swirling in the air and landing at her feet. Bending down, she picked it up and her eyes raked over the title.

**Forensic Science Essay**

**Damian Wayne - Class A**

She almost did a double take and gaped at the sheet of paper. Panicking, she glanced around to see a mop of dark hair turning the corner. Without thinking, Y/N followed after him and was glad to see the bag that Damian usually carried when she saw him walking down the hall.

"D-Damian!" She stammered, calling out after him. He paused and turned around, his signature scowl present on his face. Flinching slightly, Y/N sighed and forced herself to walk towards him and hand him the sheet of paper.

"Y-You dropped this..."

He carefully took it from her and looked at it quickly before putting it neatly in his bag. He zipped it up and turned back to her. Y/N gulped as he stared at her.

Did he recognize her?

"Thank you."

And with that, he turned abruptly and left without another word. Sighing in relief, Y/N walked the opposite way and felt unusually happy despite having missed the chance to meet her soulmate earlier that day. Humming mindlessly, she made her way out of the parking lot and down the sidewalk to the bus stop.

 

Damian's heart raced as he thought back to the pretty girl who had handed him his assignment.

"She's for sure the one from the art club I bumped into," he muttered. He felt a little shy all of a sudden and allowed a rare smile to grace his face as he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing back to see her walking across the parking lot.

He got into the car and greeted the driver with a nod before looking out the window and catching a glimpse of the same girl standing by the bus stop, looking down at her smartphone with her bottom lip poking out as she seemed to be reading something.

Damian let out a very quiet chuckle and smiled to himself, staring out of the window.

 -

And neither of them noticed the glowing mark on their left wrists.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own the characters (they belong to DC Comics) but the plot and storyline is mine! Copyright is not intended. This is for entertainment purposes only! Enjoy! :)


End file.
